Rewind
by Aku Blossom
Summary: My name is Buttercup and...I don't have a lot of time left. So, if you can...just, listen to my story. It could be the last chance I get.


"If you could change your fate, would you?" The first time I heard that line was in some stupid movie Bubbles made us watch. But, it was the first time I ever really thought things like...fate and destiny...and second chances. There's tons of stuff I've done that I've regretted, sure, but I never thought about going back and doing things differently. I just, kept going forward, ya know? Just keep pushing on, don't get all held up by stupid shit that's done and over. I mean, that's what I thought at first. The past is the past, who gives a shit?

That was before I realized...I really could get a second chance.

Sis used to joke, calling me a late bloomer. I'd shoot back that I had bigger tits and better curves than her. She'd always laugh, we'd always laugh, and we'd go back to messing with each other. That's how we got along. The jabs, the insults, the teasing, it was just a game. A battle that only we kept score in. But, she wasn't wrong. I figured that out when I was twenty-six years old. Twenty-one years, I had to wait twenty-one years to find out what my special power was.

And holy fuck, it was a doozy.

I was at some bar, chilling with friends after a rough day at work. Don't remember what we were talking about, but someone said something and someone else got pissed off. Before I could look up from my glass, they were fighting. I shrugged, rolling my eyes. Humans loved picking fights; drunk humans seemed especially addicted to it. I plucked the cigarette from my mouth and slid off my stool.

"You rotten sonuva bitch, I'll fucking kill you!" That was my cue. I reached out, snatching the mother fucker by his shirt. He whipped around with a pistol, taking a shot at my face. I dodged it. I'd been able to dodge bullets since I was a kid and a bit of cheap liquor wasn't going to slow me down.

That's when I heard the scream. I turned around, my eyes widening. Some kid, probably a teenager who bribed the bouncer or flashed her tits to get in. It was like a movie. A god-damn movie when I saw her falling in slow motion. The blood was already soaking through that skinny-ass little dress she was wearing.

Without thinking, I threw the guy down and reached out with my left hand.

Everything around me froze. Then, I slowly breathed in and everything rushed around me, like submerging myself in a pool of ice cold water. I watched her slip through the air, back into her seat. I watched the bullet rip itself from her stomach and come flying back toward me. I blinked, watching it go by my head and back into the barrel of the gun.

My lungs were starting to hurt; my head was spinning. The guy I'd thrown was turning back around, slipping the gun into his belt. I watched the asshole he'd been fighting with pull his fist back from his face and turn around.

I blinked and gasped suddenly, like waking up in the bathtub.

Everything was back to normal, the two drunkards were just now starting to fight. I could hear the teenager giggling with her friends, betting on who would win the fight.

"You rotten sonuva bitch, I'll fucking kill you!" My eyes widened. This time, as the drunk started to pull the gun from his belt, WHAM! I whipped him around and socked him across the face, so hard I sent him crashing through a table. His gun clattered to the floor; I rushed over to it, picking it up and pulling the clip from it. The bar was cheering and whooping, they loved it when I kicked ass. I was just staring at the cheering girl I'd watched die.

It took forever to really understand what was happening. Trial and error, tests and shit, I did everything I could to figure it out. Finally, I went to her, asked for her opinion. She didn't believe me at first.

"Buttercup, that's ridiculous. We've traveled through time before, but only as part of a self-fulfilling prophecy. I can't see how it would be even possible to actually alter history without...some kind of ramifications," she replied in a haughty tone.

When I proved my power to her, by having her show me what was in her pockets, and predicting the next three emails she was going to get, she started listening. We stayed up for hours, debating the possibilities and wistfully wondering what our childhood might have been like if I'd developed this power sooner.

All too soon, we parted. She told me, she said, "Hey, I know it's been a while...and it's mostly my fault. But, don't be afraid to visit. I like seeing you...and maybe someday, I'll let you meet my boyfriend," I tried to get the answer out of her, but even rewinding time, I wasn't able to fool her. She always saw through me, just like she had when we were kids.

That was the last time I saw her...before I wound up in this mess. Even though we promised to stay in touch, we didn't. We drifted apart, like we had before. Eventually, I forgot about that boyfriend I'd been so jealous about. I kept practicing my powers, using them to solve crimes and interrogate perps by using information they hadn't given me yet to freak them out.

But, every awesome ass power has limits. Mine was about fifteen minutes. If I tried any harder...my head would feel like it was screaming, my nose would start to bleed. Once, I tried so hard, I blew a blood vessel in my eye.

You're probably wondering, so what? Why the fuck do we care? So you can rewind the last fifteen minutes. That's cool, but fuck, Buttercup, you're a god damn superhero. You can do way cooler stuff.

And, yeah, you're probably right. But...I'm writing this...leaving this...to prove I was here. To prove this was real. Just in case I can't pull off what I have to do...or, worse...in case I do.

I wasn't exactly telling the truth when I said I didn't see my sister again. We met, three days ago, in this town. Townsville, the city where we'd grown up. The city where we'd fought together. The city...where this would all come crashing down.

Blossom had taken it upon herself to investigate Chemical X, that crazy shit our dad used to make us. That crazy shit that caused even crazier shit whenever it was used. See, Dad made the stuff, but even he didn't know all the mysteries to it. Even he didn't know what "The Origin Substance" was. This fucking disgusting black tar he discovered. Shit was so powerful, it was causing nuclear fallout in the area around it. Somehow, our dad took that shit and made it into a super chemical. Made it into the stuff that would bring us to life.

Blossom spent the last eight years investigating the stuff. Performing experiments, trying to follow in our Dad's footsteps. I got a phone call from her, a few months back. It was hurried, messy, it didn't even sound like her. She was talking to someone, or something. At first, I just assumed it was her boyfriend. Then, at the end of the call I heard it. "Buttercup, could you...nevermind,"

I should have called her back. No, really? I should have gone to her. I should have found out what was wrong. I shouldn't have blown her off like I had so many times before. I figured, whatever, I'm sure she's fine. Her boyfriend is there, right?

I learned three days ago there never was a boyfriend.

Blossom found something horrible: she found the truth. When she showed up in Townsville three days ago, I couldn't even recognize her. She was dripping in black shit, with horns sprouting from her head. Her eyes were red, not the fierce shade of pink I'd come to love about her. And her voice...it was so cold and distant. When she threatened us, told us to surrender or face the consequences, I couldn't believe it was her speaking.

The one thing I did recognize was her fist. When she hit me, it was like all the times we'd fought before. Except, this time, it wasn't a game. This time, it wasn't just a tit waving contest between sisters. When she looked me dead in the eye and fucking said "I'm going to kill you," I knew she wasn't playing.

Blossom had discovered the secret of Chemical X. She called it...fuck, I don't even know what she called it, but it had taken control of her. It whispered to her, spoke to her, encouraged her madness. In just three days, she's reduced the city to a smoldering crater. I'm the only thing left between her and the rest of the world.

I'm bleeding, bad. My vision is getting blurry, and my head is killing me. I've been fighting her for weeks...months now. Every time I start to gain the advantage, she beats me back down. That sick fuck that's controlling her whispers in her ear and she's unstoppable again.

I've replayed the last fifteen minutes so many times...I know how it plays out. I'll attack, she'll counter attack. I'll end up where I am now, lying on the ground, clutching my broken arm. Her footsteps are getting closer.

I hear the sickening crunch of her arm transforming, becoming a sword. In two minutes, she's going to stab me. In four minutes, she's going to break my neck.

I clench my eyes shut, begging to anything listening for the strength to try again. That was the worst thing about my power. Every time I rewind, my body recovers, but I don't. I've felt myself nearly die so many times now, it's starting to feel mundane.

I can't beat her. I realize that. The last fifteen minutes will never be enough time to overcome the woman I've never overcome in my thirty-four years on this Earth. But…

"Buttercup, aren't you tired yet?" she asks me. I can hear the faintest whisper of Blossom, of my sister, in her voice, "Just...let it go. Accept," I gasp, the air catching in my throat as I try to scream. The sword digs deeper into my gut, she twists it once before pulling it out. "That you will never win," Her fingers are wrapping around my throat, lifting me off the ground.

I have to save you. For all the second chances I've had, this is the only one that matters.

"If you could change your fate, would you?" I think as I close my eyes and hold out my broken left arm. I begin to breathe in. Everything freezes as her fingers tighten around my neck. I keep breathing in, harder, longer than my lungs have room for. My head is screaming, my vision is tearing apart in front of me. I can feel blood leaking from my nose...and then my ears...finally my eyes. I keep breathing in, even as I pause to cough up a mouthful of blood.

I have to go back, back to the very beginning, if that's what it takes. I have to keep this from happening. If my power means anything, I need to use it to save us all. To save her. No matter the cost...I have to find a way back. I have to find my second chance. I open my eyes, as a blinding light goes off. There is a crash and a I hear a grown man gasp.

My thoughts are fading. There's no more pressure on my throat; no more blood on my face. Then, I hear her voice, her beautiful voice, say "Hi!"


End file.
